Prior art joysticks mechanisms detect how much an operation member is tilted and in which direction. The condition of the operation member free standing in the center, when not being touched by an operator's hand serves as the point of origin.
Such prior art devices have fixed conditions of use for the operation members because their points of origin are fixed. Because of this, the point of origin can not be freely determined by the user.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an operation controlling device is described with which errors due to mass production can be easily corrected, and the point of origin can be freely determined by the user.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the operation controlling device is coupled to a video display generating device for generating video data to be displayed on a display unit under the control of a stored program. The operation controlling device supplies signals, in response to an operator's manipulations, to change the video data generated by the video processing device. The exemplary embodiment operation controlling device is equipped with a movable operation member, rotor bodies, rotation detection mechanisms, counting circuitry, reset signal generation circuitry and data transfer circuitry. The operation controlling device also may include a connector port for interconnecting an expansion device such as a memory card to the video processing system.
The operation member is manipulated and tilted by the operator within a desired range, and is supported so that it stops at a desired position when not being manipulated by the operator. The rotor bodies rotate according to the operation member tilt amount. The rotation detection mechanisms detect the rotated condition of the rotor bodies. The counting circuitry count values change according to the rotation amounts of the rotor bodies detected by the rotation detection mechanisms. The reset signal generation circuitry generates reset signals to reset the count values. The transfer circuitry transfers the count values generated by the counting circuitry to the video processing device.
The present invention is also directed to a video processing system including a video processing device which generates a sequence of video display frames on a display unit under the control of a stored program, and a unique operation controlling device which is connected to the video processing device and which supplies signals in response to an operator's manipulation, to change the video data generated by the video processing device. The video processing device includes a replaceable program memory, first data receiving circuitry, a central processing unit, first data sending circuitry and a video signal generation circuitry. The operation controlling device is preferably the unique controller described in detail herein and may include various operation controlling buttons, switches, an operation member, rotor bodies, rotation detection mechanisms, counting circuitry, reset signal generation circuitry, second receiving circuitry, transfer circuitry and second sending circuitry.
Many unique modes of video game operation and special videographic effects are possible with the operation controlling mechanism and video processing system described herein. For example, the operation controlling mechanism may be advantageously utilized to permit user control of a displayed object via said operation member and at the same time independently control movement of another displayed object via control switches protruding from the operation controlling mechanism housing.
The replaceable program memory stores the video processing program. The processing device's first data receiving circuitry receives data generated by the operation controlling device. The central processing unit generates command data according to the program stored in program memory and generates video data according to the data received by the first receiving circuitry. The first data sending circuitry sends command data generated by the central processing unit to the operation controlling device. The video signal generation circuitry generates the video signals for displaying the video display frame images on the display unit according to the video data from the central processing unit.
The operation member is manipulated and tilted by the operator within a desired range, and is supported so that it stops at a desired position when not being manipulated by the operator. The rotor bodies rotate according to the tilt amount of the operation member. The rotation detection circuitry detects the rotated condition of the rotor bodies. Counting circuitry count values change according to the rotation amount of the rotor bodies detected by the rotation detection circuitry. Reset signal generation circuitry generates reset signals to reset the count values of the counting circuitry. The operation controlling device's second receiving circuitry receives command data transmitted from the processing device's first sending circuitry. Transfer circuitry outputs count value data which have been counted by the counting circuitry in response to command data received by the operation controlling device's second receiving circuitry. The second sending circuitry transmits the count value data output by the transfer circuitry to the video processing device. The video processing device then generates video signals to display the video image which has been changed according to those count values.
Many advantages flow from the origin resetting and other unique aspects of the present invention. As described in detail herein, unique video games effects and modes of operations are advantageously implemented. For example, with respect to the origin resetting feature, since the origin can be freely determined in all directions by the user, the device is readily adaptable and easy to operate according to the individual operator's preference. Since the operator cannot determine the origin except by simultaneously depressing several buttons, erroneous operator initiated origin changes are significantly diminished.
When the origin is set outside the center of the operation member, after the operation member is tilted by the operator, the operation member returns to a position outside the origin when the operator's hand is removed. Because of this, if the origin is reset so that the position when the operator's hand is removed is at a desired coordinate position, a displayed object can be positioned so that it easily returns to the desired coordinate position even after the operation member has been moved in a complex fashion. For example, if the operation member is reset while it is tilted to the right, the operation member can be moved to coordinates far to the left without having to traverse a lengthy set of rightward coordinates to display an object at a desired rightward position. This feature may be advantageously employed, for example, in various video games to rapidly displace a weapon sight to a predicted enemy position.
The origin also can be determined according to commands from the video processing device. Consequently, it is possible to determine the origin from outside the operation device at any desired time during program execution.